You Owe Them Nothing
by CeliaEquus
Summary: Hermione and Severus are talking about his relationship with the Malfoys, a subject which leads to a startling revelation for the former Death Eater. EWE. I don't own anything you recognise, as per usual.


"You Owe Them Nothing"

"I do not know why you wished to leave. Things seemed to be going well between you and… Draco."

"Severus, don't sneer. I thought you were friends with the Malfoys."

"Emphasis on the past tense, Professor Granger."

The transfiguration mistress tilted her head. "Really?"

"I know I owe them a lot, as it was through their intervention that I was able to evade Azkaban, but I cannot count them as friends. Truthfully, I count no one as friends."

"What about… me?"

"You? Granger, I taught you. You are two decades my junior."

"I'm no longer a teenager, and you're only in your forties."

He snorted, and swirled the glass of elf-made wine, before taking a sip. Hermione watched the DADA professor mournfully. Teaching at Hogwarts these last two years had brought them closer together. While he hadn't stated categorically that they weren't friends, it was certainly implied. She had been relying on friendship to have some connection with him, since he still pined after Lily Potter, and could never return her love.

For love him she did. She had given up on Ron when she found that they were nowhere near as compatible as they could be. Certainly not enough to sustain a relationship. After their break-up, he immediately latched onto Lavender Brown, before bouncing from witch to witch after he found that she just wanted him for his war hero status.

Now she sat with Severus Snape, as he proclaimed that he didn't think of her as his friend, and she sighed.

"What is it, Granger?"

"I find it sad that you think that you have no friends, when there are many people who would like to be…"

"Not for me. None of them wish to be my friend simply for the real me."

"Who _is_ the real you?"

"The person I show." He scowled. "Lucius knows this, and has always used my personality against me, putting on a façade of friendship to achieve his own ends. A true Slytherin, through and through." He rested his head on his right hand. "Think back over my history with them."

Hermione did so, and her face darkened as she realised something.

"You owe them nothing," she said.

"Pardon?"

"I said, you owe them nothing." She placed her glass on the coffee table, stood, and then dropped to her knees by Severus' left arm. He looked down at her.

"What do you mean, Granger?"

"You were wrong. They were simply making amends, though a poor show of it. First, Lucius was the one who introduced you to the Death Eaters, and encouraged you to join. He further tied you to him by making you Draco's godfather. And then, when he failed to get the prophecy, Draco was instructed to kill Professor Dumbledore. Narcissa coerced you into making an Unbreakable Vow to help Draco, and even kill the headmaster in his stead. And then the entire sixth year, Draco continually rejected the promised help. Finally, he chickened out of killing Dumbledore, thus leaving it to you to do it."

"Albus and I planned…"

"I don't care. You are right not to consider them friends, and you most certainly do not owe them anything."

"So… you are on my side."

"_Yes_. And I wish you could believe that I'm your friend, Severus. I would like to be."

"Do you really have such a low opinion of the Malfoys?"

"Yes. I can almost forgive them, since they did help us. But I don't like them."

"Then why did you dance with Draco?"

"I was being polite. Besides, no one else was asking me to dance, except fame-seekers. Draco doesn't need any more fame. He was probably only trying to boost his position in society. I disillusioned him of that notion quickly. We didn't even finish the dance."

"I missed that."

"You had left by then. I… well, I tired of the ball, and decided to follow you here. It is _infinitely_ more interesting, and much less tiring."

"More fool you, Granger."

And more heart-breaking, she thought sadly, looking down at her hands. She realised that she was still kneeling by his armchair, and quickly returned to her own.

"What made you think I would like any of them?"

"Young women are attracted to Draco. He is, admittedly, attractive. Blonde hair, grey eyes, little aristocratic nose, a tan, and he's a charmer to boot."

She yawned, and then realised how tired she was. "I'm sorry. It's been a long day, Severus. I'm going to go to bed." She stood, and stretched her limbs. "For what it's worth, I have a different taste in men. For one thing, I prefer honesty to flattery; tanning is unhealthy, and shows vanity. I've never been into blondes." She walked over to Severus, who was looking confused. "The darker the hair," she slid her hand into his locks, "the better." Was it just her imagination, or did he shiver? She removed her hand quickly. "As for grey eyes, they are far too light. I'd want to be able to look into pits of darkness when… making love." She blushed. "And noses… well, what can one say?" She leaned down, her hands on the arms of his chair. "I think big noses are so much more masculine and down-to-earth, don't you?"

"H-hermione?"

"Good night, Severus." She kissed him on the nose, winked, straightened, and left.

Perhaps there was hope for her after all.

**

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This plot bunny hopped into my head as I was finishing dinner tonight. Gods above, but it's been a tiring day. I know I haven't been updating all my stories as often as I should. Here's the rundown:

"**The Musical Courtship" is all written, and shall be posted over the next week or so;**

"**Purity" has just been updated;**

"**Hogwarts to the Rescue" will be updated soon, but I'm sort of procrastinating since I'm really not looking forward to writing chapter 85, nor to all the bad reviews I shall receive after it;**

"**DVD Delights" will be updated once I finished the chapter I'm working on. It's going to be a bit long, so get ready for some heavy reading once we get there.**

**I've been doing some dark stories lately, so this is a pleasant deviation.**

**Please review!**

**This is my response to the fact that so many people think that Severus is grateful to have the Malfoys as friends, and that they remained so after the war (in AU stories, anyway). Also, the fact that Dramione stories are one of the most popular ships. I've never liked him. I'm sorry if this offends any Draco fans out there, but I just don't find him a likeable character.**


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